Re:Detailed data on AP CS pass rates, race, and gender for 2013
by Nicholas_C on Monday January 13, 2014 @04:16PM
(#7053345)
It could be difficult to find a qualified person with a CS degree willing to work for teacher's pay in and around Palo Alto. There are probably some pretty high opportunity costs.
Re:Detailed data on AP CS pass rates, race, and gender for 2013
by SiVal on Tuesday January 14, 2014 @02:04AM
(#7055794)
It's unlikely to be about pay, since there are a lot of 50-something or retired programmers around here who could teach Java in their sleep, would be happy with teachers' hours, teachers' vacations, teachers' "delivery dates", and teachers' pay, which is pretty good in this area, and are unlikely to be hired by Google, Apple, Oracle, or a YC startup.
I think the more likely problem is the state requirements for public school teachers, which would come down to about two years of political re-education camp, which such programmers wouldn't put up with. The elite private schools around here pay less than the public schools (yes, less) and yet they all seem to have CS (and other subject) teachers. Their teachers tend to be quite a bit older and have subject matter degrees and/or professional experience rather than education degrees.
The school has a terrific athletics program with great facilities but can't come up with a CS teacher in a neighborhood where most of the parents work for software companies.